Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises TAM S.A. on its combination with LAN Airlines

NEW YORK (June 25, 2012) — Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised TAM S.A. on its combination with LAN Airlines to form LATAM Airlines Group S.A.  The deal, which closed on June 22, took more than a year-and-a-half to complete and required both Brazilian and Chilean regulatory approvals.  The completed transaction results in the largest airline in South America with a fleet of 310 aircraft, and one of the largest airlines in the world by market value.

Clifford Chance's representation of TAM S.A. was led by partners Anand Saha and Anthony Oldfield in São Paulo and Sarah Jones in New York, with support from associate Nari Na.  The firm advised on U.S. securities and M&A aspects, as well as antitrust approvals in certain EU jurisdictions. 

"This is a terrific deal for both parties and an important outcome for the millions of customers LATAM Airlines Group will serve in the years ahead – both in Latin America and internationally," said Mr. Saha.  "TAM has been a longtime, valued client of our firm and we couldn't be more delighted for its management team, employees and shareholders to see this transaction successfully completed."

With the formation of LATAM Airlines Group S.A., the airline industry welcomes a new international carrier with more than 51,000 employees initially servicing about 150 destinations in 22 countries, making it one of the world's premier airline groups for network connections.  LATAM will also provide cargo service to about 169 destinations in 27 countries.

The Latin American practice of Clifford Chance is the only locally-based international firm rated Tier One for Corporate/M&A work in Brazil by Chambers Latin America.  Clifford Chance has advised on inbound and outbound legal matters in Latin America for more than 30 years and in 1998 became the first international firm to open an office in São Paulo.

Clifford Chance is one of the world’s leading law firms, helping clients achieve their goals by combining the highest global standards with local expertise.  The firm has unrivaled scale and depth of legal resources across the four key markets of the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, and focuses on the core areas of: capital markets; corporate and M&A; finance and banking; real estate; tax; pensions and employment; litigation and dispute resolution. Clifford Chance has 34 offices in 24 countries with 3,200 legal advisers.  The firm also operates a cooperation agreement with Al-Jadaan & Partners Law Firm in Saudi Arabia.